Royal Mail threatens to ban deliveries to couple if they cannot restrain their cat

A couple received a letter from Royal Mail warning their cat was a 'potential hazard affecting mail deliveries'

The postman reported that the couple's cat 'snatches the mail and puts his fingers at risk of injury' (iStock)

A couple have been told to restrain their cat or risk the Royal Mail suspending deliveries to their house.

Matthew Sampson and Laura Lowe received a letter from Royal Mail warning of a "potential hazard affecting mail deliveries" at their home in Patchway, near Bristol.

The letter, seen by the BBC, says the postal service has been "experiencing difficulties in delivering mail" to the address "becuase of the actions of a cat".

It goes on to say the couple's postman reported that when he posts their mail, their cat "snatches the mail and puts his fingers at risk of injury".

Mr Sampson and Ms Lowe are then asked to "ensure the cat is restrained at all times" or provide a "safe delivery point" instead.

The couple have now placed a box outside their front door, with a note that reads: "For safe fingers please pop mail in the box."

In a statement, a Royal Mail spokesperson said: "If we feel that there is a risk from a dog, or any other animal at an address, we are committed to working with the customer to agree simple steps to ensure we can continue to deliver the mail safely.

"We’ve now spoken to Bella’s owners who agreed to install an external mailbox which will allow the postman to deliver safely to the property.

"Our postmen and women also use posting pegs which they use to prevent bites or scratches when delivering to properties where there are animals present.

"Incidents involving cats are rare, however there were nearly 3000 dog attacks on postmen and women in 2014-5.”